Discussions By Condition: Common conditions

facial flushing on half my face

Hello, my name is Katina, I am wondering if you have ever heard of my condition. I do not have a diagnosis yet, I have had MRI'S and lots of blood work but never a reason for my symptoms. I use to work out daily doing an hour of cardio kickboxing and then one day after 30 minutes or so, half my face turns bright red. There is a line down the center of my face only. At first I felt fine but when it happens now, I get a tingle in on my left side( the side that turns red) Have you ever heard of such a thing? I would love to know what causes this since I now do not work out for fear of having a stroke or something! Help me if you can!!!Thanks, Katina

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Hello, my name is Katina, I am wondering if you have ever heard of my condition. I do not have a diagnosis yet, I have had MRI'S and lots of blood work but never a reason for my symptoms. I use to work out daily doing an hour of cardio kickboxing and then one day after 30 minutes or so, half my face turns bright red. There is a line down the center of my face only. At first I felt fine but when it happens now, I get a tingle in on my left side( the side that turns red) Have you ever heard of such a thing? I would love to know what causes this since I now do not work out for fear of having a stroke or something! Help me if you can!!!Thanks, KatinaHi! I think your condition is what we call in our country "namatanda". Farmer's doctors usually cure that disease..They'll make rituals beacause that disease is caused by bad spirits. But try consult doctors

I have the exact same vertical split half white/red facial symptoms. I noticed it some 30 years ago. I used to play football in high school w/ intensive workouts. My lower back would hurt after games from overactive adrenals (maybe there's a relationship there). I am now 43 years old and have run 13 marathons and no problems. I also would like to know more about it. Many years ago a friend called it asymmetrical respiration but I haven't found any info on it. That's how I found you... looking this up on the internet... no luck so far.

Really Look Up Frey'sGeneral DiscussionFrey's Syndrome is a rare neurological disorder that results from injury or surgery near the parotid glands (which manufacture saliva), damaging the facial nerve. The parotid glands are the largest salivary glands and are located on the side of the face below and in front of the ear. This syndrome is characterized by flushing or sweating on one side of the face when certain foods are consumed. The symptoms usually are mild and well tolerated by most individuals. Relief from symptoms may require treatment in some cases.http://www.rarediseases.org/search/rdbdetail_abstract.html?disname=Frey's%20Syndrome

I knew someone in middle school who used to have this happen to him whenever he exercised a lot, I'm not sure what exactly was wrong with him but i do know that he had two different color eyes. My sister also has two different color eyes and half of her face also turns red when exercises (she plays a lot of sports) and the doctor concluded that this was because she was only sweating on half of her face. She was also advised to take it easy while playing sports in warm weather because of the reduced portian of her face she is able to sweat upon (because sweating cools your body when overheated, if you didn't know). I don't know exactly why this happens but another thing is that my sister also has a non-cancerous cyst in her brain that isn't really dangerous, just causes migraines every now and then. They could be related but hey i'm not a doctor. If you're really concerned or have other symptoms, go see a doctor. Hope this helps!

Harlequin SyndromeHarlequin syndrome, a term originally reserved for patients with asymmetrical facial flushing and sweating without ocular signs of Horner's syndrome, is a rare but clinically striking disorder. Most cases are of benign nature. Unilateral facial flushing can also be the first symptom of more serious conditions such as malignancy or stroke, however, and therefore a thorough diagnostic investigation is required.Horner syndromeHorner syndrome is a rare disorder caused by damage to the sympathetic nerves of the face and eye. The sympathetic nerves control circulation and perspiration.Horner syndrome isn't a disease but a sign of an underlying — often serious — disorder.

I am another 55 year old female suffering from the half sided flushing after exercise. Actually, even if I get hot, I notice that half my head is hot, and the other half cool. I have had this condition for 10 years. My husband noticed it first after I had mowed the lawn. He said "what's wrong with your face?". I was worried it was a symptom of a stroke or some other neurological emergency so I went to a walk-in medical clinic across the street. They immediately sent me to the emergency dept. of our local hospital where I waited for 2 hours to see a doctor. Then I was treated to a very rude interrogation by the resident physician who couldn't understand what my problem was (since the flushing had gone away over the two-hour period). Exasperated, I finally told her that I was concerned that it was a neurological issue because you could draw a line down the middle of my face (through my nose) and one side was beet red and sweaty, and the other was cold and dry. I also told her that the triage receptionist had witnessed this when I arrived. This doctor just kept asking questions like "why would you get red when you exercise?". She finally said, well you look alright now and sent me home. This was the emergency dept. at the Mississauga Hospital, Ontario Canada.So I diagnosed myself over the internet over a period of time. I saw that there WERE a number of life-threatening issues with this condition (signs of impending artery rupture, lung or brain tumours, etc.) I wanted to share my experience to see if others have had similar treatment.My question about this condition is: Is there a possibility of permanent damage from overheating during exercise, since the body is not cooling itself properly?Thanks.

Wow, I'm amazed to hear other people describe what I've been saying and seeing for years. I am a 28 year old female and have had this since I was 5 or 6. With exercise, my the right side of my face gets hot, red and sweaty, while the other side is cool, white and dry. I have the greatest picture from when I was 6 or so in my goalie gear and I had come off the soccer field. You could draw an absoluley straight line down the middle of my face, one half red the other half white. However, my upper body is affected as well. I don't sweat much on my left upper body. When I play sports (ie-cycling, tennis, spin class at the gym) my right arm will be dripping with sweat and my left arm is almost dry.I had some testing done when I was 10 or so related to this and all I remember is that they said that my nervous system wasn't malfunctioning when it came to other areas. But now that I'm an adult and a nurse, I would like to know more and maybe get some answers expecially since I have some other unexplainable health issues.

Hello! I have this! The sweating and flushing you are experiencing is called "facial anhidrosis" (which means decreased or no sweating) on one side of the face. I was diagnosed with Horner's Syndrome (aka Bernard-Horner Syndrome or Oculosympathetic Palsy). I don't know about Harlequin syndrome, but Horner's usually also has some degree of "ptosis" (drooping of one eyelid, which I don't have), "miosis" (constricted pupil, do you ever notice your pupils are not the same size as each other ever? mine do this), and some people have enophtalmos (one eye looks sunken, which I don't have). There a A LOT of potential causes, you can be born with it, or it can come later in life. My neurologists believe I was born with mine, and it is caused by a small benign tumor on my carotid artery. Read this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horner%27s_syndromeGoogle more about Horners. Talk about this with your doctor and try to get referred to a neurologist. There can be dangerous or very benign causes and it is important to get it checked out!! But don't stress, just go to a doctor.

Now I don't feel like such a freak anymore. Mine started about 20 years ago after I was diagnosed & surgically treated for an over-active thyroid. My right side turns beet red & sweats buckets after I exercise while my left is cool & dry. When I eat rich or spicy foods my left side sweats & my right is dry. Could it be that I have a combination of Frey's & Harlequin? I love to exercise & it took me a while to do it again in public. I never look anybody head on in the gym nor do I speak, when they notice they all get a good laugh at it. I asked my doctors & they get in a laugh & a few jokes. If I could change one thing about myself-this would be it. If anyone knows of a cure or a specialist please post it. Although it is not physically painful, emotionally it is torture.

Yesterday, after biking for 20 miles, I noticed my left half of my face and part of my scalp was red and my right side remained the usual color. I've seen this happen a couple of times before after working out or eating spicy foods. My face is symmetrical with out any glaring imbalances. I’ve noticed when I smile, the left side of my mouth curls much higher than the right, my left eye squints more also. Other than that, nothing appears to be different. I am right handed, mostly, some sports are left. I am 35 and in fairly good health. The red face has only shown up in the last 10 years at most. I did not have this happen to me at all when I was a child. I actually use it as a conversation starter sometimes in public; at least the women can’t take their eyes off my face. Good or bad?:D

I have this also. I have had it maybe 15 years. It's very disturbing. I have had 3 MRI's. Nerologists could find nothing but an enlarged blood vein. Not life threatening they say.It's been a real mystery. You couldn't draw a line any straighter than when this happens to my right side of my face. I can get overheated in the sun or doing exercise. ms

Hello everyone. I'm glad to find people that have the same problem as I have. I'm not American and in my country I've never heard or seen a case as mine. I was born with this disease/syndrome or what it is. In my case though it's a bit different, my face turns red only on the right half when I exercise or take hot baths but my left half turns read and sweaty when i eat spicy or very hot food. Also i have another difference... when is cold outside like winter cold i sweat excessively on my left shoulder, a cold sweat that causes me problems every winter. The doctors said that nothing is wrong with me, this happened when I was a child, now I'm 22 years old and I still don't know what is wrong with me. I've documented about that Harlequin's Syndrome but I've come to a conclusion, that is not what I have. So if anyone else has the same problems as I have and he/she knows what it is please let me know. Thank you.

Wow, this is fascinating! I was born with my left pupil larger than my right pupil, and I also only sweat on one side of my face- the left side. Both these things were noticed when I was a child but opticians and doctors reassured me my eyes were fine and ruled out squints etc. Everyone always thought it was funny and weird that I only go red and sweat on the left side of my face, but I have never made the link between the two! Like everyone else, after I exercise you can draw a line down the middle of my face, the left side of my head will be dripping with sweat and the right side is dry.

I wonder if it has anything to do with the right and left hemispheres of the brain. You've got one side ( and it seems to be the same side for each case ) that is affected by spicy foods. I wonder if the cause could be somewhat neurological.

I get this too! It first happened when I joined the gym and I was running on the treadmill for around 40minutes. When I got off I looked in the mirror and EXACTLY half of my face was bright red and hot and the other half was normal and cool. I was very embarressed and now I don't really tend to do alot of strenuous exercise because of it and prefer to go swimming as an alternative.I'm 20 years old and female.I've googled Harlequin Syndrome after seeing it mentioned on here and it sounds like thats what I've got. I'm going to make an appointment at my doctors tonight and see if I can get an answer.Thanks!

Wow.........So many medical conditions, all discovered by most of you through your own research, it does pay to hunt down yourself as not all doctors know about these conditions :)Samanthahttp://www.undiagnosedillness.org

Hi! I am a science writer and am working on an article on this disorder. If you have experienced these symptoms and would be interested in sharing your experience with me, please email me at ebe222ATnyuDOTedu. I look forward to hearing from you!Thanks!EmilyI get this too! It first happened when I joined the gym and I was running on the treadmill for around 40minutes. When I got off I looked in the mirror and EXACTLY half of my face was bright red and hot and the other half was normal and cool. I was very embarressed and now I don't really tend to do alot of strenuous exercise because of it and prefer to go swimming as an alternative.I'm 20 years old and female.I've googled Harlequin Syndrome after seeing it mentioned on here and it sounds like thats what I've got. I'm going to make an appointment at my doctors tonight and see if I can get an answer.Thanks!

Wow, this is fascinating! I was born with my left pupil larger than my right pupil, and I also only sweat on one side of my face- the left side. Both these things were noticed when I was a child but opticians and doctors reassured me my eyes were fine and ruled out squints etc. Everyone always thought it was funny and weird that I only go red and sweat on the left side of my face, but I have never made the link between the two! Like everyone else, after I exercise you can draw a line down the middle of my face, the left side of my head will be dripping with sweat and the right side is dry. Hello Abbie, This combination of larger pupil and sweating at one side seems to be the Ross-Syndrome. You can find more information at this forum about Ross-syndrome.I like to get in contact with people who have the Ross Syndrome, Holmes-Adie-Syndrome and Harlequin Syndrome. I just started a website to collect more information about these Syndromes : www.ross-syndrome.com Anybody with one of these syndromes, please conctact me : ross-syndrome@hotmail.com Sip (Netherlands, Europe) ;)